New ‘Skins safety is born leader, trash talker

D.J. Swearinger honors his family and his idol with his jersey number. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

by George Wallace

RICHMOND — New Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger has quickly emerged as one of the leaders on this revamped Redskins defense. It’s evident early in camp that he likes to set the tone on the field and his teammates are following.

“I have to bring that because I’m a natural born leader,” Swearinger said on Tuesday. “My mom always told me to lead, not to follow. That’s what I’m doing here.”

Swearinger’s voice is one you can hear a lot during practice, whether it be having fun or trash talking.

“It gets us going a lot,” he said. “If the offense hears me yelling, once they make a play they want to yell too and it’s a competitive thing. Both sides want to compete better.”